The Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time

Starting off with a bang, 12 Monkeys, directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, is a kick ass time-traveling movie with a fantastic twist at the end.

Released in 1995, this sci-fi neo noir classic is based on and inspired by the 1962 French short film La Jetée. Set in a future world where human population has been ravaged by a deadly virus causing nuclear war; scientists of the future send Bruce Willis back in time to try and avoid the catastrophe of the virus break out in 1996, or help come up with a cure to save the future.

This might be a divisive pick, but no one can deny that The Avengers is great, and has had a lasting impact on modern cinema.

Without this first Avengers flick, no one knew if what Marvel was doing could even be pulled off. But they did pull it off. And it was fantastic, thanks in no small part to Joss Whedon who is an expert at creating relatable and realistic universes like Firefly. On top of all of that, The Avengers represents a marked shift in the accessibility of comic book adaptations, in a way that DC has been frankly struggling to keep up with. After all, comic books are science fiction at their heart and soul.

KHAAAAAAAAAAANNN!!!!!

One of the classic science fiction movies of all time, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan reinvigorated a beloved franchise and helped to propel it into the modern day.

Let's face it, the first Star Trek movie was kind of meh. Everyone knew it, especially the filmmakers when it came time to think about a sequel, hence the reduced budget. But this was an A+ effort and a case where limiting your options makes for a better final product. Everything came together in The Wrath of Khan. The plot, the acting, the writing, the villain; it was all perfect Star Trek just like the fans wanted. And the critics agreed.

Largely overshadowed by its younger brother, Alien is the diamond in the rough of science fiction movies.

This 1979 Ridley Scott classic, Alien introduces us to the horror of the Xenomorphs in a completely unprecedented way. Think about it: This was just 2 years after Star Wars hit the screens and instead of Jedi and Han Solo, we get Sigourney Weaver running for her life from something we barely get to see. Alien is truly a masterpiece.

The Stanley Kubrick 1971 classic dystopia A Clockwork Orange is one of those movies that does such a good job at immersing you in a new world that you forget you're even in it by the time the movie finishes.

Starring Malcolm McDowell as the protagonist, Alex, we follow him as he endures an experimental aversion therapy to reduce his murder sentence. Based on the 1962 novel of the same name, A Clockwork Orange presents us, in 1971, a world far too familiar to our own. Take this along with expert direction and cinematography, and you have a movie that should be on everyone's queue.

I know, I know, two superhero movies...BUT, X-Men: Days of Future Past builds on the success of The Avengers by adding another element of badass sci-fi epicness: time travel.

Not just that, but it was used to combined two separate X-Men franchises, which we were all dying to see happen after First Class. There were so many ways how this could've gone wrong, but somehow the stars aligned and gave us this incredible film. The tone is perfect and balances humor, action, dystopia, and time-travel with an unprecedented integrity and grace. Future cinephiles will hail this movie as a sci-fi classic!

Metropolis is already hailed as a science fiction classic. A German expressionist silent film released in 1927, directed by Fritz Land and based on the novel by Thea von Harbou.

Set 100 years in the future in 2026, Metropolis tells the tale of a world of just two distinct social classes–the wealthy class, and the worker class. In this film, all of the workers toil underground in terrible conditions while the rich upper class enjoy luxuries like pleasure gardens. Meant to warn of the disasters of unrestrained capitalism, which would be realized not two years after the movie premiered in the form of the Great Depression; Metropolis stands in time as a stark warning that technological society must work for us all, not just the rich.

Yes, yes, of course Star Wars is up here. How could it not? Seriously–tell me.

Written and directed by the simultaneously revered and hated George Lucas, Star Wars was released in 1977 and introduced us to a galaxy far, far away...

But, this was only the beginning. Star Wars helped not only re-spark the genre of science fiction at a time where it was at its lowest; but also set in motion a multi-generational franchise that has inspired millions of people around the world. It is the most famous independent movie of all time as well as being a science fiction masterpiece. Yes. FTW. STAR WARS...

...Wait, a new challenger approaches...

Anyone not see this one coming? Let's face it: Stanley Kubrick only makes masterpieces. This entire list could probably just be comprised of his films..

The 1968 sci-fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey quite literally set the bar for what outer space science fiction should look like on film. In fact, the effects are so well done, that they still stand up to scrutiny today.

Developed in parallel as the book of the same name, this masterpiece was a collaboration between the brilliant minds of Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. The movie takes the word "psychedelic" to a whole new level and it confronts the viewer with both humanity's past and future. Any meaning derived from the film is entirely subjective, with metaphysics and a burning questioning interwoven throughout the entirety of the film. It is a masterpiece of masterpieces, written and directed by two of the greatest storytellers of the 20th century.